Series Three Cast Profiles
KAYA SCODELARIO (EFFY)
Kaya previously appeared in Skins, misses the old cast but loves filming with some new young talent. “The new cast are a lot closer to my age which is nice - it’s also great to work with new people. The new cast are in the position I was two years ago, so I relate to them. We all help each other out and although we’re here to do a job, we’ve all bonded really easily and love what we’re doing.”
“In the first series, Effy didn’t speak and was a background character. In the new season, Effy is the powerful person who watches over everyone sussing them out. She has a sense of control about her and she sees her best friend Pandora as someone she can befriend, but also use and mentor in a way. She’s very intelligent, and although her intentions don’t always seem good, she always means well.”
JACK O’CONNELL (COOK)
“It was the first job I moved towards myself. I’m usually told about parts from my agent but I approached him about Skins. To get the part of Cook is such an achievement.”
“My character, James Cook, is Jack the lad. He’ll bring humor first and foremost. The fact that there are no limits will be exciting as you can literally go anywhere with him - there’s no holding back - everything excusable. He’s very extravagant - it’s going to be interesting to see where he goes.”
LUKE PASQUALINO (FREDDIE)
Luke is nothing like his character, but loves playing the part. “Freddie is a bit of a deep character really. Freddie lost his mom so his dad is his only parent. His sister uses his mom as a sympathy vote because she is so obsessed with being famous - this gets to Freddie. He’s got a lot going on in his head. And to top it all off, he fancies a girl he can’t have.”
“He’s a bit of a challenge to play, as I don’t relate to Freddie - I’ve still got my mom and a sister that doesn’t annoy me. Also he hides behind his skateboarding and I can’t skateboard at all! I’ve had intense training though from the head of the 50/50 skate team in Bristol. It’s been great but I did tear some ligaments in my left foot only a couple of weeks before my big skateboarding scene.”
OLLIE BARBIERI (JJ)
Ollie never thought he’d get into acting, but got the part of JJ through an open audition at his school. “JJ is a loser, a real loser. He’s the best friend of Cook and Freddie and is dragged through a lot with them. He gets into situations he’d never get into on his own, but I hope he grows as a character through this. He doesn’t know how to deal with people or talk to them, except Cook and Freddie. He thinks girls are a different species. He uses his magic to bridge a gap between himself and other people. Doing magic means he can take on a different persona and hide behind it.”
“I’ve modeled JJ on myself - he’s a more extreme version of me and I really enjoy playing his part. I read the scripts and I just relate a lot to what he does. I can understand the way he can see things. But I think I have a lot more common sense then JJ, and my social skills are better.”
LISA BACKWELL (PANDORA)
Lisa previously appeared in Skins and has returned having made an appearance last season. “I got into the show via open audition last year. My drama teacher had received a poster about it and told my class to go along, so I did. It was really intense - I went to the open audition on the Monday and then had further auditions over the next three days, before getting the part on the Thursday. I cried when I got it. I was walking to school telling my friends that I didn’t get it and then I got a phone call asking me how I did - and I thought rubbish - but then they said I got it.”
“Pandora says the most wacky things - she’s a bit of a loopy. Most people will see Pandora as simple, but what I like about her most is that she’s actually quite clever. She’s a little bit naive and her silliness makes her seem as if she has no idea, but there’s a lot more to her than people think. She’s just very innocent and honest.”
MEGAN PRESCOTT (KATIE)
“On the very first audition there were seven other sets of twins that we saw. It was strange as we all knew we were going for the same part.”
“There’s a reason why Katie is so in your face, and there is a reason why Emily is so quiet and subdued. Throughout the series you find out why they are different and how they are different. It’s weird because Katie and Emily have a bit of me and a bit of Kathryn in both of them. But I definitely think me and Kat are different in that we’re not as extreme.”
KATHRYN PRESCOTT (EMILY)
Kathryn really enjoys playing the passionate, quieter twin. “My character is called Emily and she is completely over powered by her sister. Her sister is the popular one who gets all the boys, and Emily is in her shadow. She’s really individual and passionate about stuff, but she never gets a chance to shine because Katie is always there being the first one you notice, and the one that everyone likes.”
“The first episode is the first day at college and this shows Emily trying to break from the shell she was in at school, but Katie completely ruins it leaving her stuck in a rut - again.”
LILY LOVELESS (NAOMI)
Lily is totally different to Naomi. “I’m quite laid back. I’m not as intense. I’m more easygoing and relaxed - very relaxed.”
“Naomi is a very head-strong individual person, who doesn’t think she needs anyone, but I think underneath she does - she’s a bit lonely. She’s a passionate person caring about what she believes in, as no-one else does.”
MERVEILLE LUKEBA (THOMAS)
Merv has a lot of similarities with Thomas. “I find it easy to identify with Thomas. He’s African - I’m African, he’s from the Congo - I’m from the Congo, he speaks French and I speak French. I found Thomas within me. He has a very distinctive accent and luckily the producers were happy with the accent I did in my audition. It’s hard to do his African accent well, as Thomas is innocent and nice, you can’t do the stereotypical masculine African accent.”
“Thomas is a character who has just moved from Africa - from the Congo. He is very poor and has come to Bristol to find a better living. He arrives and doesn’t know where to start. He meets two young ladies at a bus stop and they introduce him to the circle of friends that are the Skins characters.”
KLARISA CLAYTON (KAREN)
Klariza has great fun playing Karen. “Karen is a spoilt brat. She gets everything that she wants and is a big daddy’s girl. She’s Freddie’s older sister and she wants to be a pop star. She’s very theatrical and a big drama queen - she’s a good character to play.”
“I do have some similarities to Karen but I’m not a spoilt brat. I get spoilt because I’m the youngest and have three older brothers, but I earn my own money as I have a very bad shopping habit, which I have to fund excessively.”
Kaya previously appeared in Skins, misses the old cast but loves filming with some new young talent. “The new cast are a lot closer to my age which is nice - it’s also great to work with new people. The new cast are in the position I was two years ago, so I relate to them. We all help each other out and although we’re here to do a job, we’ve all bonded really easily and love what we’re doing.”
“In the first series, Effy didn’t speak and was a background character. In the new season, Effy is the powerful person who watches over everyone sussing them out. She has a sense of control about her and she sees her best friend Pandora as someone she can befriend, but also use and mentor in a way. She’s very intelligent, and although her intentions don’t always seem good, she always means well.”
JACK O’CONNELL (COOK)
“It was the first job I moved towards myself. I’m usually told about parts from my agent but I approached him about Skins. To get the part of Cook is such an achievement.”
“My character, James Cook, is Jack the lad. He’ll bring humor first and foremost. The fact that there are no limits will be exciting as you can literally go anywhere with him - there’s no holding back - everything excusable. He’s very extravagant - it’s going to be interesting to see where he goes.”
LUKE PASQUALINO (FREDDIE)
Luke is nothing like his character, but loves playing the part. “Freddie is a bit of a deep character really. Freddie lost his mom so his dad is his only parent. His sister uses his mom as a sympathy vote because she is so obsessed with being famous - this gets to Freddie. He’s got a lot going on in his head. And to top it all off, he fancies a girl he can’t have.”
“He’s a bit of a challenge to play, as I don’t relate to Freddie - I’ve still got my mom and a sister that doesn’t annoy me. Also he hides behind his skateboarding and I can’t skateboard at all! I’ve had intense training though from the head of the 50/50 skate team in Bristol. It’s been great but I did tear some ligaments in my left foot only a couple of weeks before my big skateboarding scene.”
OLLIE BARBIERI (JJ)
Ollie never thought he’d get into acting, but got the part of JJ through an open audition at his school. “JJ is a loser, a real loser. He’s the best friend of Cook and Freddie and is dragged through a lot with them. He gets into situations he’d never get into on his own, but I hope he grows as a character through this. He doesn’t know how to deal with people or talk to them, except Cook and Freddie. He thinks girls are a different species. He uses his magic to bridge a gap between himself and other people. Doing magic means he can take on a different persona and hide behind it.”
“I’ve modeled JJ on myself - he’s a more extreme version of me and I really enjoy playing his part. I read the scripts and I just relate a lot to what he does. I can understand the way he can see things. But I think I have a lot more common sense then JJ, and my social skills are better.”
LISA BACKWELL (PANDORA)
Lisa previously appeared in Skins and has returned having made an appearance last season. “I got into the show via open audition last year. My drama teacher had received a poster about it and told my class to go along, so I did. It was really intense - I went to the open audition on the Monday and then had further auditions over the next three days, before getting the part on the Thursday. I cried when I got it. I was walking to school telling my friends that I didn’t get it and then I got a phone call asking me how I did - and I thought rubbish - but then they said I got it.”
“Pandora says the most wacky things - she’s a bit of a loopy. Most people will see Pandora as simple, but what I like about her most is that she’s actually quite clever. She’s a little bit naive and her silliness makes her seem as if she has no idea, but there’s a lot more to her than people think. She’s just very innocent and honest.”
MEGAN PRESCOTT (KATIE)
“On the very first audition there were seven other sets of twins that we saw. It was strange as we all knew we were going for the same part.”
“There’s a reason why Katie is so in your face, and there is a reason why Emily is so quiet and subdued. Throughout the series you find out why they are different and how they are different. It’s weird because Katie and Emily have a bit of me and a bit of Kathryn in both of them. But I definitely think me and Kat are different in that we’re not as extreme.”
KATHRYN PRESCOTT (EMILY)
Kathryn really enjoys playing the passionate, quieter twin. “My character is called Emily and she is completely over powered by her sister. Her sister is the popular one who gets all the boys, and Emily is in her shadow. She’s really individual and passionate about stuff, but she never gets a chance to shine because Katie is always there being the first one you notice, and the one that everyone likes.”
“The first episode is the first day at college and this shows Emily trying to break from the shell she was in at school, but Katie completely ruins it leaving her stuck in a rut - again.”
LILY LOVELESS (NAOMI)
Lily is totally different to Naomi. “I’m quite laid back. I’m not as intense. I’m more easygoing and relaxed - very relaxed.”
“Naomi is a very head-strong individual person, who doesn’t think she needs anyone, but I think underneath she does - she’s a bit lonely. She’s a passionate person caring about what she believes in, as no-one else does.”
MERVEILLE LUKEBA (THOMAS)
Merv has a lot of similarities with Thomas. “I find it easy to identify with Thomas. He’s African - I’m African, he’s from the Congo - I’m from the Congo, he speaks French and I speak French. I found Thomas within me. He has a very distinctive accent and luckily the producers were happy with the accent I did in my audition. It’s hard to do his African accent well, as Thomas is innocent and nice, you can’t do the stereotypical masculine African accent.”
“Thomas is a character who has just moved from Africa - from the Congo. He is very poor and has come to Bristol to find a better living. He arrives and doesn’t know where to start. He meets two young ladies at a bus stop and they introduce him to the circle of friends that are the Skins characters.”
KLARISA CLAYTON (KAREN)
Klariza has great fun playing Karen. “Karen is a spoilt brat. She gets everything that she wants and is a big daddy’s girl. She’s Freddie’s older sister and she wants to be a pop star. She’s very theatrical and a big drama queen - she’s a good character to play.”
“I do have some similarities to Karen but I’m not a spoilt brat. I get spoilt because I’m the youngest and have three older brothers, but I earn my own money as I have a very bad shopping habit, which I have to fund excessively.”